While 2025 was a rough year for many of us, thanks to the looming threat of World War III, AI takeovers, and the price of eggs soaring, it was a particularly bad one for Vitaly Zdorovetskiy.
The controversial YouTube creator and Kick streamer had spent years making a name for himself with his 'prank' videos, but having faced several slaps on the wrist, a short five-day stint in an Egyptian jail, and being released from custody after being charged for aggravated battery in Miami Beach, his actions finally caught up with him.
Amassing over 10 million subscribers on his VitalyzdTv YouTube channel, he then took his content to Kick. Kick has faced continued complaints about what kind of content its creators are putting out there, but arguably, Vitaly is the most infamous. Arrested on April 2, 2025, Vitaly Zdorovetskiy was apprehended on multiple charges for harassing people in public at Bonifacio Global City and other parts of Metro Manila.
A lengthy rap sheet included threatening to rob a woman, stealing a patrol motorcycle, trespassing into a McDonald's kitchen, and much more.
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Being denounced by both the American and Russian authorities, officials in the Philippines vowed to make an example of Zdorovetskiy and promptly banged him up.
Although he was lucky to avoid a potential 24-year sentence, it doesn't sound like Vitaly's 290 days behind bars in a Filipino jail were exactly a walk in the park.
Having broken his silence on what it was like living in this 'jail hell', Zdorovetskiy has now vowed to expose the 'corruption' he experienced while undertaking his sentence.
After serving his time and promptly being deported back to Russia, Vitaly has continued to speak out on what he witnessed in the Philippines, even making a hop over to the USA.
Discussing his sentence with Adin Ross, Vitaly bragged about having a phone while in jail but explained how it let him film his experience. As reported by Dexerto, Vitaly told Ross: "I had a phone the whole time in jail. I vlogged the whole experience and I’m going to expose the corruption and everything."
When pushed on how things worked there, Vitaly continued: "Just corruption bro, you pay the guard, and you’re good to go. Bro, you can do anything. Money talks in the Philippines."
As for whether he regrets spending most of 2025 in cramped conditions with rats and sweltering heat, the divisive creator stated: “Absolutely not, because it’s an experience. I spent 10 months in jail. I read so many business books, I got smarter."
He goes on to seemingly defend his actions in the Philippines, adding: "Not a lot of people know what I did in the Philippines before. Have you seen what I did? I was on a world tour helping people."
At least some of what Vitaly has told Ross has been backed up by officials, with Philstarlife confirming that the Bureau of Immigration has let three members of staff go for allegedly giving him special treatment.
Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro says that the BI deduced that videos taken by Vitaly were from early in his sentence while being held at a detention center. The case remains under investigation, while the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology says it was brought forward by Instagram photos that clearly showed Vitaly at a time he should've had no access to a phone.
As Zdorovetskiy has vowed to expose the supposed corruption of the prison system, the BI has reiterated that he's now on its blacklist.